A conversation with Central-Macon coach Jesse Hicks

Need to rebuild a high school football program? You might want to discuss the project with Central-Macon coach Jesse Hicks, who has mastered the craft at two Middle Georgia high schools.

First, there was Baldwin in Milledgeville, where Hicks went 8-3 in his first season after taking over a program that had won one game in two seasons.

Now, it's Central-Macon, where a victory against winless Kendrick on Friday will give the Chargers a 5-0 start for the first time since 1981. The Chargers started 6-0 that season and finished 9-3.

Hicks has experience as a player and coach on the college level, and that knowledge has played big in the reclamation of both high school programs. He played high school football at Glenn Hills in Augusta, then played linebacker at Albany State. He also served as linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator at Albany after his playing days.

In 2002, Hicks left Albany State for the head coaching job at Baldwin. When Hicks arrived in Milledgeville, the Braves had compiled a 1-9 record in 2000 and 0-9 mark in 2001. In his first season, Baldwin went 8-3 and lost to Griffin in the first round off the playoffs. It was not a fluke. In the next seven seasons, Hicks and Baldwin went 70-22 and made the state playoffs six times, reaching the semifinals in 2005 and the quarterfinals in 2008. Hicks sent countless Baldwin players to the college level.

Hicks left Baldwin in 2010 and coached at Dougherty in Albany for two seasons before taking on the challenge of rebuilding Central-Macon. It has been a slow process. Central won eight games in his first three years before breaking through with a 6-4 record last season.

Hicks took time Monday to discuss a number of issues in a wide ranging Q&A:

Q. What made you decide to take the job at Central High School?

A. My staff and myself did a great job at turning Baldwin County High School around, and I left there in 2010 and coached at Dougherty for a year and then came back to the Middle Georgia area and got the job at Central. When I was at Baldwin I had a great relationship with the athletic director at Central, and she had always told me I would be great for Central. I knew that Central had great athletes and was the only school in the area that had won a state title, in 1975. I knew they had great tradition and I knew the caliber of football players they had there. The head coach (at the time) was an Albany State grad and I knew him. I said, "That's a really interesting job, an excellent job." While I was at Dougherty, I got a call saying the job was open, and I interviewed and here I am.

Q. Were there other reasons to make the change?

A. Well, I was at Baldwin and, for those who don't know, Baldwin County isn't a huge place. But it's a wonderful place, wonderful people. But you know, when you want to go to the city, we had to travel to Macon to get certain things, so I was very familiar with Macon. I was familiar with the people, from the media all the way to people at the (board of education). People of higher education, you know, Mercer University, I was very familiar with them. So it was like coming back home. There really were no reservations about coming back to Middle Georgia. Middle Georgia had been so good to me and my family, so it was really a win/win situation. That's the one thing people always talk to me about, because I'm very passionate about what I do. But then again I'm passionate about the kids and I am passionate about the school. A lot of times people give Macon a bad name when it comes to education and when it comes to football. I think we have some great coaches who are turning around programs. Let's not get it mistaken ... I knew what Central was when I got here, like I did at Baldwin, they hadn't won a game in two seasons. And a lot of the people who were with me at Baldwin are here with me now.

Q. Tell me about your staff today and the connections with Albany State?

A. What' s great about it is, two of my coaches are Central grads and I recruited them out of high school when I worked at Albany State. I have been knowing some of my coaches since they were 17 and 18 years old. Coach Robert Cummings and Joc Sample are the two that I recruited from Central back in 1996 and 1997. Both of those guys have been with me since I got my first coaching job. All of my coaches, except for two, played at Albany State. I like to hire my people who I know can trust and who I can depend on. Mike White (defensive coordinator at Albany State) gave me an opportunity to come play ball, and when I graduated he let me be a graduate assistant. And when he got the (head coaching) job I was the first guy he hired. So Albany has been good to me.

Q. Has there been a mentor to you as a coach? What have you learned?

A. I'll be honest with you, I have always loved football. I have always had an understanding of it. Its just God's gift. (White) is now the head coach at Benedict College. He was more of a father figure, mentor to me. He taught me so much, not just about (football), but just how to treat people, how to respect the game, how to work, and like the kids say today, how to grind. And it has followed me throughout my career. If it hadn't been for Mike White, I don't know where I would be right now. He gave me every opportunity to know the game and know how to grow through the game. And the respect I have for the game and the love that I have for the game comes from watching what he did and how he did things. What's crazy about it is, Robert Cummings, who I coached at Albany State, his son played for me two years ago and now his son is playing for coach White at Benedict in Columbia, S.C. So it's just a family tree that continues to grow.

Q. On a deserted island, three songs?

A. (Deep laughter) Well, I love gospel music and easy listening music, although I am a Tupac fan. But as I get older now, if I was on an island, it would definitely be Luther Vandross, "A House is not a Home". "RESPECT" by Aretha Franklin -- I love Aretha Franklin -- and I'd have to pick, "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding, Macon's man. I love Otis.